…Set to take regulations to every region of the country
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said that it has entered into mutual agreements with airline operators in the country on the recovery of debts it is owed by the airlines.
This is just as the regulator said that between now and 2024, it will be developing all its regional offices providing adequate training, manpower to ensure that every part of the country is involved as the regulatory agency provides its services.
Director General of the NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu made this known on Wednesday when he played host to the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation who are in Lagos on oversight function of the industry.
Captain Nuhu who expressed some of the immediate needs of the NCAA said the regulator understands the difficulties brought by the pandemic and will institute a payment plan that will be favourable to both the agency and operators.
On the need to develop regional offices to reduce the cumbersome nature of regulation and ensure its gets to the operators, he said,” We are empowering five regional offices to ensure the the job in smaller areas get done and they do not have to refer to Lagos or Abuja. It brings regulation closer to the operators outside Lagos and Abuja opening more regional offices in the far reaches of the country.
” Already Port Harcourt takes care of of the south East and south-south buyer are looking at opening a regional office in Enugu for the South East. We are looking at another one in either Maiduguri or Yola for the North East, Ilorin for the middle-belt and Uyo or Calabar for the South-South.
The Director General also explained that training for the inspectors and other regulatory staff are key to the agency and that the NCAA was competing for manpower especially pilots and engineers with airlines that pay better remuneration.
He however said it was key because these inspectors with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)require trainings to be better or at par with the trends in the industry for better capacity and performance
He reasoned that the only way to retain these pilots and engineers was to make the remuneration closer to what is obtained in the airlines to be able to keep them.
Reacting, the Chairman House Committee on Aviation, Honourable Nnolim Nnaji said the House was on its oversight function and would look at what the NCAA has done and intends to do with what as been allocated and would be allocated to it.
He also commended the NCAA for a job well done especially during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and how the regulatory agency handled it.
